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by america_chavez



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 16:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5097590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/america_chavez/pseuds/america_chavez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony then promised himself he would find his soulmate, even if it took him 70 years. He didn’t want to turn out like Howard, unhappy and bitter for the rest of his life. He would find the one meant to be with him. He would find home.</p><p>AU where everything is black and white until you meet your soulmate.</p><p> </p>
            </blockquote>





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**Author's Note:**

> I noticed how the AA and EMH universes lacked in the soulmate trope so I decided to give it a try. This is my first published fic in over 2 years and my first fic in the Marvel/Avengers Universes so I apologize sincerely if things don't seem to make sense. I'd like to thank the amazing [bracha (cockedtail)](http://archiveofourown.org/users/cockedtail/pseuds/cockedtail) for being my beta.
> 
> Takes place after Avengers Assemble Season 1, Episode 13: In Deep.

_**Soulmate** (noun): a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner._

* * *

Tony had memorized the definition to the word at the age of 7.

At age 8, he had asked Maria Stark about soulmates.

“When you meet your soulmate, you’ll feel very happy and warm inside. Like a billion little butterflies in your belly.” She had said tickling his stomach as Tony giggled. “You’ll be able to see the colour of the sky, of the grass and of your soulmate’s eyes. You’ll find your home.” She had replied before kissing his forehead and tucking him in for the night.

When he was 9, he asked Howard if Maria was his soulmate.

Howard had screamed at him that soulmates were for stupid people who didn’t have anything better to do with their time than to believe stupid supernatural myths. Tony then asked, “Do you know what colour mamma’s eyes are?” Howard’s hesitation answered his question.

No, he didn't know what colour Maria's eyes were. Maria Stark was not Howard Stark’s soulmate.

Tony then promised himself he would find his soulmate, even if it took him 70 years. He didn’t want to turn out like Howard, unhappy and bitter for the rest of his life. He would find the one meant to be with him. He would find home.

* * *

In the middle of his freshman year, the school had requested Tony’s parents for a conference. Howard had yelled at him, wondering what the hell he had done this time and told him he was such a fuck up, the school had to call him to come in person while Maria kindly asked Jarvis to accompany her and Tony to the school conference.

The school nurse and principal had discussed the testing of soulmates and their uncertainty of it working with Tony’s young age.

“Tony is definitely a bright and gifted child but be that as it may, his maturity levels may not be at the same level as our typical high school students.” The school nurse explained to her. “We’re just worried that his test results may be compromised because of his age and were wondering if you’d like to go through with the testing.” The principal continued.

“Well… Have you tried asking him what he wants or thinks?” Maria inquired

“No, Mrs. Stark, which is why we called yo-”

Maria turned to Tony and asked him, “Tony, would you like to be tested for your soulmate or would you like to wait?”

Tony hesitated, remembering the promise he had made himself the year before and then quietly replied, “Yes”.

“Well, there you have it.” Maria smiled at the gaping adults in front of her. “Tony will resume taking part in regular freshman events, like the rest of his class.”

“Yes, Mrs. Stark.” The principal and nurse replied in unison.

* * *

A week after the conference, Tony’s classmates were slowly being called up for their testing and his classmates began discussing other people’s results.

The dark-haired girl that sat next to him in Algebra, Tiffany, had returned to class in tears after her results had concluded she didn’t have a soulmate.

“According to the doctors, Tiffany wasn’t even supposed to be born because her soulmate died before she was born, meaning she doesn’t have a reason to live.” Said a junior girl who sat at the back of his History class

What? That couldn’t possibly be true… Could it?

“I thought a soulmate meant it can be like a lover or a best friend?” Tony thought out loud

“Well… yeah” answered the shapely girl “But even if she finds a lover, what’s the point of living when you don’t have a soulmate? It means you’re a freak of nature. I wouldn’t want to be around her anymore, I’m gonna ask for my scarf back, she might infect it with “soulless genes”.” Laughed the girl along with the crowd forming around her.

As the laughter faded, a young man in a lab coat walked into the room, holding a clipboard of the next five lucky freshmen to take their tests.

“Would the following people step out into the hallway with me: Jenkins, Sarah.” A small shy girl stood up and walked to the door. “Marshals, Jordan.” A large football player stood up and joined her. “Poole, Jasmine.” A slim, dark-skinned girl followed. _They’re going down the roll_ , he realized. “Smith, Cameron.” _Oh god._ “And…” he paused, turning to the next page “Stark, Anthony.” _Fuck._

“Please bring all your stuff with you, you’ll be dismissing from the infirmary.” The man finished before walking outside.

Tony instantly regretted signing up for the test. Especially after what the junior girl was talking about.

What if he ended up like Tiffany, a soulmate-less freak of nature? What if he never got to know what colour the sky was or what colour his own eyes were? What if he ended up exactly like Howard, bitter and angry at everyone and everything.

No. He wasn’t going to let fear fill him with negativity. Even if he didn’t have a lover or a best friend, he’d find a way to be happy. No one had to know what his results were, he would lie.

He took his bag and followed the group to the infirmary. “When you get to the infirmary, please fill out these forms as accurately as you can. The nurses and I will be with you momentarily.” The man explained to them. When they arrived, each of them were assigned a “room” (really the entire infirmary had been cleared and instead of the usual cots, some chairs and table were divided by four thick, curtains) and told to take off their uniform sweaters and roll their sleeves up past their elbows.

Tony couldn’t sit still. His anxiety levels increasing by the minute until finally, the young doctor pulled the curtain and sat down in a rolling-chair and rolled over to Tony’s chair. “Good afternoon, Mr. Stark. How are you feeling?” The doctor smiled.

“Nervous.” Tony confessed, tapping his fingers on his dress pants.

“Ah, yes. Most students are usually nervous, along with some adults.”

“You can get tested as an adult?”

“Yes, sometimes adults come to us wanting reassurance that they haven’t lost their soulmate yet or wondering if their soulmates have been born yet.”

“Born yet? You mean you can be born before your soulmate and still be guaranteed a soulmate?”

The doctor chuckled, “Of course. Soul bonds aren’t set in stone. They can easily change just like our futures. There have been cases where someone’s soulmate dies before the other is born and their soulmates could be reincarnated into someone else.”

“Like Tiffany Abbott?” Tony asked quietly.

“As a doctor, I’m not allowed to discuss other patients with you but because I’m also supposed to be answering any questions or concerns you may have, yes. Like Tiffany. Her soulmate died before she was born, but they could easily be reincarnated and she can get retested to know if and when they’ve been reborn.”

Tony thought about that for a moment, letting the silence stretch out before asking, “What happens to someone if they don’t have a soulmate?”

The doctor tapped a finger on his chin lightly in thought. “Well, they don’t live as long as someone who does because being happily bonded with someone is actually very good for your health but usually, they can mostly live a healthy, happy life if they’re able to get over the fact that they don’t have a soulmate. Psychologically, it can really mess with your head thinking or feeling like there is no way you‘ll be happy without your soulmate.”

Tony quieted, taking in the new information.

It gave him hope; hope for his future and for his classmate but also hope for his parents. Maybe one day, both his parents will find who their true soulmate is. He knew it was childish to hold on to something like that, but he needed something else to believe than what he’d originally thought after Howard confirmed that they weren’t soulmates, at least not anymore.

“If you don’t have any other questions I’d like to start now, if that’s okay with you, Mr. Stark,” the doctor said, interrupting his train of thought.

“It’s Tony. My father is Mr. Stark. And yeah, sorry for asking so many questions.”

“Okay Tony, what we’re going to do is inject a serum into your bloodstream. The serum will trigger the ‘soulmate gene’, causing similar effects to when you meet your soulmate. Meaning, you will be able to, temporarily, see colours. We want to trigger this gene so we can determine what colour the symbol on your wrist is. Because the symbol is hidden under your epidermis, the serum will allow the symbol to glow, meaning that during the effects of the serum, your wrist may itch and/or burn. Of course, once you and your soulmate have some sort of physical touch, it will burn temporarily and then be forever etched into your wrist, communicating to both you and the world that you have officially found The One.” The doctor paused. “Do you have any questions before we start?”

“How long does the serum last?” Tony asked.

“Usually 4-5 minutes. It all depends how healthy you are and how fast your immune system can fight and destroy the serum.”

Tony looked up to the young doctor nervously, “Will it make me feel happy and warm inside like my mamma said it does?”

“Yes, most likely,” The doctor smiled at him.

“Okay, I’m ready.” Tony said, unclenching his hands and wiping off the sweat on his pants.

“Great, let me go get the nurse and we’ll get started immediately.” The doctor said, pulling the thick curtain before turning towards the nurses’ station.

This is it, he thought. In less than 2 minutes, I’ll know what fate has in store for me. I’ll know if I get to live my happily ever after.

The doctor returned with a nurse who carried a tray full of different sized needles, a syringe and a small vial of a translucent looking liquid. The doctor let the nurse prep Tony’s arm while he filled the syringe with the serum. When the nurse alerted him that Tony’s arm was ready, he pulled his chair closer to Tony’s and aligned the needle to the largest vein in the crease of Tony’s elbow.

“Wait!” Tony called, making the doctor jump a little.

“Yes, Tony?” the nurse asked him.

“Do you have a list of colours I could see?”

The doctor and nurse exchanged a curious look. The nurse stepped out quickly and returned with a small colour wheel and handed it to Tony. “Anything else?” she asked him, smiling.

“D-do you have a mirror I could use as well?” Tony asked sheepishly. He knew they wouldn’t really mind but it still embarrassed him asking for so much stuff for his own selfish needs.

The nurse’s smiled widen as she reached into her uniform pocket and pulled out a small compact mirror and handed it to Tony.

Clutching the chart on one hand and the mirror in the other, Tony nodded at the doctor to continue. The doctor gave him a reassuring smile as he slowing injected him with the serum. “It may take a while for it to start working but you can close your eyes if you’d like.”

Tony immediately shook his head. “I don’t want to miss anything.”

“Well you’re definitely the most excited kid I’ve ever tested.” The doctor commented with a chuckle. The nurse nodded in agreement. “No kid I’ve helped has ever asked for a colour chart or a compact mirror. Usually they sit still, close their eyes and wait for the burning.”

After a couple seconds, Tony’s vision began to blur as the serum took its effects. He tried blinking and rubbing his eyes but it was no help. He closed his eyes but then he felt a burning sensation on his wrist and his eyes immediately flew open and he looked down. “It’s glowing.” He whispered in awe. His hand was no longer the soft gray he was used to. He looked around the room. Nothing in the room was the light and dark shades of white and black he was so used to.

 **** _Everything’s in colour_ , he realized.

He looked down at the chart in his hands and began calling out the colour of this. The thick curtain was actually a pale yellow. The nurse’s hair was also yellow but she had called it blonde. Her lips were a beautiful rich red, her cheeks were a light pink shade and her eyes were a wonderful deep blue.

Tony gasped as he remembered what his original plan was. He flipped the compact mirror open and stared into it. The sight was breath taking.

Tony’s right eye was a beautiful shade of brown, but his left eye was a bit different. Instead of the full brown colour of his right eye, his left eye contained a different colour outside of his iris. The light brown was replaced by a green/yellow tint that transitioned into the brown closer to the iris. “Heterochromia?” Tony asked, turning to the doctor.

“Yes, sectional Heterochromia. Your iris is brown and it transitions to green.”

His mother’s words echoed through his mind again.

“When you meet your soulmate... You’ll be able to see the colour of the sky and of the grass…”

“The sky, the grass!” he exclaimed as he jumped up, readying himself to sprint past the thick yellow curtains. Unfortunately for him, the doctor caught his wrist before he could sprint past him.

“Before you go outside, we need to examine and discuss your symbol and what it means,” he stated sternly.

Tony felt himself deflate as he shuffled back to his seat and let the nurse and doctor examine his wrist. In his excitement to learn what the colours of his eyes were, he had completely forgotten about the glowing symbol on his wrist.

The doctor gently took his wrist and set it on the table behind them. “Well, this is odd.” The doctor frowned, writing something down on his clipboard.

“What is?” Tony said, panic running through his body

“Well usually, the purple symbols aren’t outlined.” The nurse explained with brows furrowed, “Well at least to my knowledge.”

“You’re right,” the doctor said, agreeing. “Purples almost never have any sort of outline.”

“What does the outline mean?” Tony asked, unsure if he really wanted to know.

“Well a silver outline like yours means that in different reincarnations, you’ve always come together. They call them Eternal soulmates, which is actually pretty rare, so congratulations.”

Tony felt his heart swell with relief and bliss. Eternal soulmates! I have a soulmate no matter what!

“But,” the doctor said, interrupting his moment of glee, “Purple means it’ll be years before you meet. More than the average person, at least. This, of course is odd because usually the cause with eternal soulmates is that they meet before the average person. This usually pertains to people who grow up together or meet really young in school,” he explained.

“How much is ‘more than average’?” Tony asked.

“Well the average is usually 5-10 years after being tested. So really, it could be anything between 15-50 years from now.”

Tony’s jaw dropped. “What?” he cried in shock.

“If they live that long. The future is always changing. You may be eternal soulmates but that doesn’t guarantee that you will meet in this lifetime.”

“You mean, I could wait 50 years from this very moment thinking I’m going to meet my soulmate soon and then get retested only to find out my soulmate died 10 years ago?”

The doctor could only nod.

 **"** It’s just a bitter sweet result” the nurse commented.

Tony didn’t know if he felt miserable or if he had a million more questions to ask that he knew he wouldn’t get answers to.

As Tony stood up to leave the room, his head began to spin and he felt his knees give away and his head hit the cold tile floor. His head throbbed as the nurse and doctor called out to the other nurses for a cot and some towels. He closed his eyes and let the tears stream down his face.

When he opened his eyes, the curtain was no longer the pale yellow it had been. The nurse’s concerned eyes that looked down at him were no longer the bright blue he had seen. His world was no longer the happy, joyful colours they had been moments before. The sad and dull blacks, grays and whites consumed his vision once again.

And for the first time ever, Tony let himself cry into the arms of the nurse who would only whisper to him “It’ll be okay, sweetie. You’ll find them. You’ll find home.”

* * *

Tony’s life passed in a colour-less blur.

At 14, after his high school graduation, Tony left home to live on campus at MIT. Both Tony and Howard celebrated the absence of the other with bottles in their hands.

When he is 15, after regularly scheduled partying, he met his best friend, Rhodey.

Their first encounter had consisted of the worst hangover Rhodey had ever experienced, Tony puking 3 quarters of the night and late afternoon pancakes and coffee at a local diner. Tony wondered if having Rhodey as his best friend was what it felt like to have a soulmate. He wouldn’t mind not having a soulmate as long as Rhodey was his friend.

At 17, he graduated MIT. Maria and Jarvis had attended his graduation. Howard did not.

In December of 1991, Jarvis had called him at 7:03PM with the 2nd worst news he would receive that night. His parents had been in an accident. Howard had died on the scene and Maria was in the ICU. When he had finally arrived to the hospital in New York, he received the news that his mother had died not even 5 minutes before he entered and her last words had been “Tell Tony I love him and that one day, he will find home.”

On that day, Tony Stark’s heart breaks for the 2nd time in his entire life. He vows to never retest for the soul bond. His mother never got to be happy with her soulmate, why should he?

 ****Two months following the death of both his parents, he became the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company at only 21 years old.

When he is 38, Tony is kidnapped in Afghanistan. With the help of Ho Yinsen, Iron Man is born. Tony escapes. Yinsen does not.

Tony Stark mourns the death of his friend by shutting down Stark Industries as a weapon manufacturing company.

In 2011, the Avengers assemble for the first time ever, and it’s under the most random of circumstances. They get used to each other. They live together happily in the mansion. They even manage to beat Galactus, and Tony thinks that one deserves to go into the records as “The Most Amazing Achievement In The Universe”. The Avengers are strong and the world believes in them now more than ever before. It’s all perfect.

Until it’s not, and they disassemble.

In 2013, they reassemble in a panic. They save Steve from Hydra and the Red Skull.

They decide to stay together again. Tony prays that it will last.

In attempts to infiltrate and destroy the Red Skull’s Cabal from within, Steve and Tony disguise themselves as the Grim Reaper and Crossbones. The mission, albeit complicated and didn’t exactly go according to plan, was an incredible success. Tony felt like he was really at home again, working beside Steve for the first time in a long time.

That night, after the mission,  Tony’s life changes forever.

When they arrive back at the Tower, everyone gathers in the kitchen and begin discussing what pizza toppings and how many pizzas to order. Everyone’s relaxed and for once, Hawkeye, Hulk and Thor are too busy eating to actually start fighting about their games. Tony counts it as a miracle and a half.

After about half an hour of Tony stealing glances at Steve, Natasha corners and confronts him. “Just tell him you like him.” She told him.

Tony looked down at his almost empty can of soda. “I don’t know what or who you’re talking about,” Tony scoffed, reaching for another slice of pizza. He knew didn’t look as nonchalant and ignorant as he was trying to make it seem.

“Steve,” she clarified even though she knew perfectly well that Tony knew who she was talking about. “It’s painfully obvious that you’re in love with him.”

“First of all, wrong. I don’t. It just a little crush at most, and it probably has to do with what he said today meaning whatever it is I’m feeling will be gone by tomorrow morning. Secondly, Steve would never be interested in someone like me." Tony paused, smirking and added "Also, it’s unprofessional to date your teammates.”

Natasha rolled her eyes but continued, “What did Steve say in the vents?” she asked curiously.

He raised a brow at her. “He told you about the vents?”

“Stop deflecting.”

Tony bit his bottom lip and looked away. He sighed before looking at her again.“He told me I was one of the smartest people he’d ever known, and that I was amazing, but I mean, I already knew that so nothing new.” Not knowing what else to do and needing to move, he drank the last of his soda.

Natasha smirked. “Tony, you’re so in love with him it’s ridiculous.” She turned and started walking away. “Goodnight children… and Steve. Tonight has been fun and all, but Clint and I really need to sleep.” She said, looking over at Clint.

“What, no. Why do I have to go to bed now?” Clint complained.

Natasha’s lifted her arm, pulled up her sleeve and pointed to the intricate pattern etched on her wrist.

“Oh… OH!” Clint exclaimed, finally understanding Natasha’s hidden message.

Hulk groaned “TMI!” as everyone else laughed at Clint’s late response.

“Goodnight kiddos, Daddy’s gonna get laid tonight.” Clint said, running to catch up to Natasha.

“Don’t let the widow bite!” Tony yelled after him. Tony was responded with the sound of a body hitting the floor, the crunch of glasses and Clint’s cry of, “TOO LATE!”

Eventually Hulk, Thor and Sam bid their goodnights, leaving Steve and Tony in the living room with cartoon reruns playing in the background.

“Wanna have a movie marathon?” Tony asked, looking over at Steve

“Sure, let me go get changed real quick in case I crash,” Steve replied, walking down the hallway to his suite.

“Got any requests?” Tony asked when he had returned. He had been basically twiddling his thumbs waiting for Steve to come back.

“Whatever you pick is fine.” Steve said with a casual smile, sitting down next to Tony.

“Jarvis, queue up any movie neither Steve nor I have watched.” He leaned back into the couch and Steve got close to him. He tried to control himself. He could practically feel the heat radiating off the super soldier's body.

“Of course, sir… Would that be all?”

“Thanks, Jarvis, that’ll be all.” Tony turned to Steve and held up the bowl of popcorn. “Want some?”

Steve nodded, stretching so that his shirt rode up in the front, revealing the smooth skin around his navel.

Tony bit his lip, imagining himself kissing up and down his torso, leaving a trail of hot, wet kisses up his chest and neck.

“Is something wrong, Tony?” Steve asked, smirking slightly.

Tony’s eyes widened until he was finally able to stutter out a response. “N-no… Sorry I just… Never mind… Let’s just … Watch the movie.”

Tony noticed that Steve had just continued glancing at a very flustered Tony throughout the movie. If you asked Tony, he had absolutely no clue what the movie was about. He was too busy watching Steve watch him, who was squirming at the end of the couch. Anytime he’d stretch his legs, Tony would ball up and try to avoiding touching Steve. Tony swore he was doing this on purpose but there was no way. He didn’t let himself get his hopes up. Steve was just teasing, Tony repeated in his head. He was just teasing and everything is going to be alright in five seconds.

 ****After getting through the majority of the movie (and Tony still had no idea what was going on), Steve sat up and scooted closer to Tony. “Tony…” Steve whispered.

Tony turned his head slowly and stared right into Steve’s eyes. “Y-yeah?” Steve looked almost anxious, but also hopeful. His cheeks were rosy, but eyes determined like he were going into the battlefield. It was like he was trying to will himself to speak. “What’s up?” Tony was sure his voice wavered embarrassingly at the end.

“Kiss me.”

All the air was sucked out of Tony’s lungs. He had to be joking, but no; Steve hadn’t moved away from him, not even an inch. He felt his blood rushing, hearing the sound of his fast heartbeat in his ears. Tony swallowed thickly, nodded and moved forward to meet Steve in the middle, feeling his lips against Steve’s.

Unfortunately, their first kiss was cut short by a piercing pain on their right wrists.

“Ow, shit!” Tony exclaimed as his eyes flew open and he stared down at his wrist where he found a dark purple star outlined in silver. Tony gasped and looked around him.

Colours. Everywhere.

He looked up and found Steve’s bright blue eyes looking down at him like he was the most beautiful thing in the world.

His soulmate’s eyes.

“They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful” Tony whispered, tears forming in his eyes. He couldn’t stop looking at him. He was more incredible than anything in the universe. Tony let out a choked laugh and pulled Steve into a tight hug, never wanting to let go.

“I found you,” Steve breathed, tears streaming down his face. “I finally found you, oh, thank God.”

“Yeah, after 33 years, you finally found me.”

“It took me almost 80 years to find you,” Steve said, a smile in his voice. “But I’ve never been happier to learn that it was you. It’s always been you.” Steve said, pressing his lips against Tony’s much softer ones and murmured, “I love you.”

Steve picked him up bridal style and carried him to his suite and Tony let out a surprised yelp and laughed joyfully.

Tony’s last thought that night was, _I’m home._

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoyed it. Comments and kudos would be appreciated!
> 
> Follow me on Twitter: [here](https://twitter.com/akaashibokvto)! Or on Tumblr [here](https://akaashibokvto.tumblr.com)!


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